Recently, one of the premier food events on the East Coast, the Charlotte Shout Culinary Arts Experience, drew some of the biggest names in food to the Queen City. Thanks to the good offices of Moira Quinn, public relations dynamo, master organizer and general incredibly human being, I got the chance to sit down with the stars of the show and ask a few questions.

This week, we'll lead off with my interview with Tony Bourdain. In upcoming weeks, you'll hear from Martin Yan, Ming Tsai and Sara Moulton.

Tony Bourdain has evolved from head chef at one of New York's top French restaurants to international celebrity, taking first "Cook's Tour" and now "No Reservations" into every culinary corner of the globe, eating what the locals eat, drinking what the locals drink and (usually off-camera) smoking what they smoke.

When "Kitchen Confidential" hit bookstores in 2000, it caused a minor earthquake in foodie circles. All the misdeeds that had long been suspected behind closed kitchen doors, and many that no one had ever imagined, were laid bare. Bourdain also made a clean breast of his own life, confessing his own problems with drugs and other errors in judgement along the way. What quickly became apparent to reader was that, in addition to his considerable culinary skills, Bourdain was a raconteur par excellence, with a raw way with words that made him eminently readable.

"Cook's Tour" and its accompanying Food Network show soon followed, and Bourdain's new career as traveling food writer was launched. With a style reminiscent of P.J. O'Rourke in "Holidays in Hell," Bourdain explored the off-the-beaten-path eateries, eschewing the four-star hotel and resort digs to do things like ask a cab driver in Southeast Asia to take him to where the drivers ate dinner.

Now, with "No Reservations" on Travel Channel and an hour-long format, Bourdain's explorations have expanded, delving more deeply into the culture, people and curiosities of the places he visits.

One thing that comes through loud and clear in both shows is how much at home he is in Southeast Asia. From Bangkok to Bali, there's a light that comes on in those jaded eyes when he talks about the area. And that's the starting point for our interview.

Q: You seem like a different person in the Far East. You seem very in tune with that area. Will we see you out there permanently someday, do you think?

A: My whole business model and life plan right now is whatever enables me to get out to Asia as much as possible. So I use TV as a vehicle to get me out there, as a means to that end. I have a book contract already signed to go live in Vietnam and possibly Bali as well for a year or more, so yes, I think I could go live in the area for a year or more and write about the experience. It's really whether the reason I pitched the book is just because I wanted to go or because I wanted to go because I could do the book. I know that I feel a compulsion to return.

Q: I've seen you when you're out there, and you're happy.

A: I'm happy, and I'm engaged and interested.

Q: Do you ever try to cook the things you've eaten in Southeast Asia?

A: I would not. Even if I spent a year in Thailand, I don't think it's appropriate that I come back to New York and use those influences. They've been doing that for thousands of years. It's their cuisine. It took me a whole career just to learn how to do French right.

Q: Not even around the house?

A: Once you've eaten the real thing, it's tough for me to eat Thai food or Vietnamese food in New York. It's a rare Vietnamese restaurant that takes me to that happy place the real thing does. If anything, I'm less inclined now to try it than I was before I traveled.

Q: Are there any cities in the U.S. you haven't visited yet that you want to explore?

A: Off the top of my head, no. Is there a city I'm just dying to get to? No. There are definitely some favorites, some places I like to go through. With all the book tours, I've been through a lot of cities.

Q: Have you been through Houston? That's a pretty big food town.

A: I have. One of the things I love about Houston is it's a place where you can find good Vietnamese food. That's maybe the most significant feature of the culinary scene in Houston, as much as they'd like to believe otherwise.

Q: Do you cook anymore?

A: Almost never. I travel about three weeks out of the month. The few days I'm back in New York, I'm jammed up. I don't serve any useful function at the restaurant. By time I get done seeing my friends, all of whom are chefs, I'm always having dinner at a restaurant. The couple of days I'm actually home, I'm calling out for pizza or eating the things that I miss about New York the most, like good deli, bagels and the like.

Q: Looking for authentic food, rather than the "best" food, seems to be one of your messages. Would you rather have local chow than the best available?

A: I'm looking for authentic and different. The best is seldom interesting to me. The best restaurant in Bangkok is usually not that different from the best restaurant in London, Reykjavík, or New York. There are a few guys out there who are doing fine dining. Really forward-thinking, really extraordinary work. By and large, I'd really rather eat at a taco truck. As long as there are 16 Mexicans standing there waiting for a meal, I'd rather eat there than endure a 16-course meal. The wide-open spaces between Applebee's and the colonel, those people who are from "somewhere else," are America's greatest gastronomic strength.

In one episode, Bourdain got the attention of barbecue fans everywhere when he visited Bali, where he feasted on whole pig cooked over an open fire. The pig was stuffed with herbs, then cooked for hours, being turned by hand and basted regularly with sweetened coconut juice. The result made me wish Smell-o-vision was a reality.

Q: How many days a week could you eat that Balinese pig?

A: Oh, man, until I just couldn't anymore. I tend to go on jags. Like, if I dig something I'll eat it every day for a month, so who knows?
I do happen to think that North Carolina has the finest barbecue in the United States. I'm a whole hog guy. Western style, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, that's it. No sticky sauce.

Q: In essence, when it comes to meat cooking, do you find the truest flavors come from cooking the whole animal?

A: Absolutely. I think that the guy who encapsulates my worldview best is Fergus Henderson at St. John, who really understands one's involvement with one's food begins with the animal. As he says, 'This was a happy pig.' He claims he can taste that. He says it's respectful to the animal to eat all of it and prepare it well. I like everything, the ears, the cheeks and all the other bits. The real cooks of this world tend to focus on the nasty bits, first because we know it'll be good, and second because we know that's the real challenge, to make something good out of those parts.

Q: Anybody can cook a ribeye or a tenderloin, in other words.

A: You ask any group of chefs what the most boring piece of meat is and they'll say the tenderloin.
The food items that great chefs would order are an example. Your status in the room is in inverse order to what you'd eat. The chef who ordered chitterlings would be the coolest guy in the room. Pig's feet would come in a close second. Whereas in fancy restaurants, that is turned on its head. What you see in fine dining is in no way related to the real world and what's really good, in many respects.

Q: Last question: What's going to kill you first, the cigarettes, the food or the late nights?

The day I quit smoking, I'll get run over by an ice cream truck. Or maybe I'll get taken out by a crazed band of Rachael Ray fans.

Soon after, Tony took the stage at Charlotte Shout to the largest crowd of the weekend to discourse on authentic food, the evils of Rachael Ray and Emeril and various other topics. He did an hour, then spent even longer signing books for a mostly adoring crowd. I never did get to take him to Lupie's Cafe for some wings, but maybe next time ...

Next week: Ming Tsai and Michelob brewmaster Jill Vaughn on matching beer with food.

Got a question? Comment? Topic you'd like to see covered? Drop me a line, anytime!